The Best YA Fantasy of 2016

If I could only choose one genre to devour forever, it would definitely be fantasy. I adore the possibilities! And the action, adventure, magic, and probability of talking dragons. So today I’m going to list my favourite 2016 fantastical Young Adult releases. Since it’s nearly Christmas time, you can gift one or two or all of them to yourself. Isn’t that a great idea? It’s a great idea.

There were so many amazing sequels and finales come out this year! It’s so hard to only pick a few, but I’ll be brave and do my best. Here are my top 5 favourites!

CROOKED KINGDOM

This is the sequel (and finale) to the Six of Crows duology and … can I just say right now that it was pure perfection?! It’s a story about a heist crew out for revenge on a nobleman who cheated them. (Ah, irony.) And the complexity of the heists they pull and the mind games they weave are just incredible and will keep you glued to the page. But make sure you put aside a free weekend to begin devouring this because you will not want to put it down. Ever.

THE RAVEN KING

Another series finale! This is the 4th and final book to The Raven Cycle collection and it, arguably, has the most beautiful cover of them all. Also the words inside are good. In fact, they’re amazing. This finale will take you on a whirlwind of emotions and make your heart pound as the time towards Gansey’s foretold death draws ever nearer. The demon awoken in the last book is also wreaking havoc and draining the magic of Henrietta and it looks like everyone is going to die. A delightful nail-biter. Also leave the weekend free for this one too? Basically just cancel life and read.

THE IMPOSTOR QUEEN

This is like a very dark version of Disney’s Frozen! Meet Elli who is supposed to be the next queen who will wield fierce and amazing powers to protect her people — except her powers haven’t shown up yet. People are getting worried. And violent. It’s filled with snow and magic and betrayal and harsh terrain and is absolutely magical to read. Also it has a gorgeous map. Which is a priority for all fantasy books honestly.

THIS SAVAGE SONG

This is set in a dark, Gotham-like city where monsters roam the streets and the humans rage a constant turf war with them. People look to mafia lords for safety. And caught up in the middle is the vicious and slightly stabby daughter of a Mafia lord, Kate, and a violin-playing-kind-monster boy, August. They get throw together and end up running for their lives. It’s possible, perhaps, that not all monsters are as bad as they seem.

NEVERNIGHT

And lastly we have a book by Aussie author, Jay Kristoff, who has written an amazingly complex and darkly vicious fantasy starring Mia, a prospective assassin. It’s full of tests and trials and torture and bleeding and you probably won’t be able to look away from the page because you’ll be so worried about who will live and die. The world building is intensely detailed. And it features a talking cat made of shadows. What more convincing do you need?

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Cait Drews

Cait Drews is writer, book blogger, and reader extraordinaire. She's been blogging for 5 years, reads 200 books a year, and has written over fourteen YA novels. She is usually found hugging her bookshelves and she often eats full books before breakfast.
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